Pages

Saturday, August 8, 2015

Hello from the Witchy Cottage! Yes, we're still here but not for too much longer. Some things are always the same: My job as a caricature artist is picking back up for the fall season. I work often, but August and September are so crazy that I barely have time for much else. I typically can't even make it to Kansas City's Pagan Pride Day or Liithi Lushede's Mabon; that's how hectic it gets. It will certainly make upcoming inevitable events interesting. My husband's job is solid, the roommate's doing well and everything is about as peaceful as it can be given the circumstances. However, much has changed since July and I'm bursting with all sorts of news to share!

Let's start with the first thing you might have noticed in my post for the Circle of Fountains August Eve ritual: I have a new haircut! I got crazy, noticed a lot of gals who have side shaves also have wider noses and high cheekbones like me and decided, why not? I'm in love with it! So is my hair stylist, who literally jumped up and down with excitement when I mentioned I wanted to do it. Unfortunately, the side shave isn't exactly as popular in the little ol' Midwest as it is on the coast. Fortunately, my stylist made sure I could flip my part to the other side and hide it for anything I might need, such as work.

I finally got around to getting some of my 2015 goals completed this month, such as sorting and downsizing the office closet. Of course, this was before I knew we were moving but it's only going to help to have less stuff.

It's unusual for our pets to have any fluctuation in their lives but our dog Artemis has gone through a lot of changes as well! First off, he got a new collar this month! We noticed that his blue and white paisley collar was starting to look more green and ivory marble. He's had that collar for years, so it's about time we swapped it out.

My husband is holding Artie's old collar in this picture.

Collars are a huge deal to Artie. They mean he belongs somewhere. As a rescue dog, that's incredibly important to him. He can't stand to not have his collar on and, with time running out on his current collar, I knew the race was on to find one that fit Artie's personality. Because we associate this familiar with water, we prefer collars that are blue, white or silver, maybe with some green. I personally prefer more of a cyan for him; it just seems more Artie. But my husband and I had the hardest time finding a collar that fit our needs! We went to so many stores around Kansas City, including ones that had handmade collars with various fabrics. No such luck. I was really disappointed! But one 2 am Etsy search led me to a store called Dogs by the Bay, a "seaside pet boutique." Lo and behold, they had the perfect collar for Artemis:

The picture absolutely does not do it justice! My dog is a Shih Tzu mix, so it plays to his Asian side and it has sea waves on it! How absolutely perfect!

My expressive little dog is barely holding in his glee in this picture as I put the new collar on him.

Of course, getting a new collar reminded me that he was well overdue for a groom. So I set a grooming appointment for the next day early in the morning. Usually, my husband drops him off in the morning and I pick him up in the afternoon. I set the appointment with a groomer closer to us, so Artie was a new client. Unfortunately, in the hectic rush of the morning, my husband forgot to mention that he wanted a 1/8th buzz everywhere except the face which should be rounded. Whoops! So what I got back was absolutely hilarious:

It was in this moment that I realized I've never seen Artie's face under all that fur. It doesn't even look like him! Artie spent the next week ignoring my husband and generally loathing him. Poor thing. It'll grow out, Baby Bean!

Yeah, okay Mom. Whatever you say. *rolls eyes*

Other than that, the rest of the pets have been doing well. No real changes there, so here's a tiny photo dump:

Also, a quick update about my husband: On July 31st, Aaron had surgery to remove a tumorous growth. Everyone sent us so much positive energy that the clock on the lobby wall started to vibrate during his surgery and they had to remove it and take the batteries out! Well done! I mean, look at all of this:

You can click the image above to read them all!

I apologize if I missed your message to me! I think I got them all, but I'm never quite sure. This also doesn't include all the texts, e-mails and comments on Facebook from personal friends. My husband and I are so blessed. We can't tell you how much we appreciate it!

The first biopsy from the topical removal returned "abnormal cells." After removing 3 ounces of fatty tumor from my husband, we were hoping for more news. Unfortunately, the lab returned with "undetermined atypical cells." They've sent the sample off to a second lab for more information. The doctor said that he still thinks it's just a lipoma (a benign fatty tumor), but he also said that he's "never seen a lipoma do that." Something's up, but we have no idea what. I was truly hoping I could give a better update today, but it may be weeks before we have anything new on that front.

That being said, he's doing much better now that it's removed. He had a rough go right after the surgery and ended up having to take extra days off from work because he would continuously tear the wound back open. However, it's healing up nicely and he's repeatedly said that he feels much more comfortable - he never knew how much the growth was bothering him until it was gone. So at least there's that.

Again, thank you so much for all of your kind words, prayers, energy and thoughts! And the candle lightings! My husband truly appreciated it, and it helped my nerves to know there were so many people out there thinking of us during the time frame as I sat alone in the lobby. You guys are wonderful.

So now, for the announcement I'm sure you've all been waiting for:

WE'VE FOUND A NEW HOUSE TO RENT!

Gah, that's my car at our new house! My little blue Taurus is at our new house! This isn't a photo from the listing. I took this picture! Gah!

No, for real, this is our next house! I'm not even kidding! Lease is signed, deposit is in, move-in date is set. The house is a four bedroom, two and a half bath, three story house built in 1910 in a historic section of our city! It has a sitting room in the entrance:

It also has an entertainment room with a bar!

About the only thing I'm not absolutely in love with is the awful sea foam green, pepto pink carpet, tiles and wallpaper. A sign of the times, I'm sure. I'm so ready to paint over the walls, but I have no idea what to do with that carpet. Maybe I'll run into a free rug that will cover the pepto pink part of it on Craigslist or something.

It also has a "reading room" which will be using as our office with this perfect little place that just might be where I put my altar!

This is mine and Aaron's bathroom, which is hands down the biggest bathroom we've ever seen. It's bigger than my parents' bathroom, for sure! It even has a built in makeup vanity!

The two bedrooms upstairs are made mostly of wood, and one even has this little part in it that seems to be like a perfect three-tiered altar...

So I imagine this room will be the spiritual room! I'm all for kitschy wallpaper, but I'll probably be painting over that too. Yikes!

The house also has a dining room with a little bench in it that doubles as storage. So much storage in this place!

The other particularly awesome part of this house is the huge three-level wrap-around porch with...

... A real, working Jacuzzi! <3

It also has a balcony on the front that you can walk out onto from the top two rooms. One of the top bedrooms will be mine and my husband's, the other being the circle room. Our roommate gets the smaller two rooms in the basement with his own bathroom!

I'm beyond ecstatic about the new place. We're working through some initial hiccups with the owners and repairs that are needed before we can move in, but I'm hopeful that it will all work out. The house is just minutes from my husband's work, closer to my work, closer to my circlemates, and there's a Zumba studio right across the street. I mean, I seriously can't handle how perfect this could be if it all falls into place!

Our house cleansing is going to be antique key themed given the nature of the house. The keys don't have to be real keys; craft stores sell tons of mock antique keys for super cheap! Charge them with positive energy and attach a small note to the key with some thread, hemp rope, etc. The note might include your well wishes for us, symbols, sigils, bind runes or even just your name or username. I'll be hanging the keys in my new house! The house cleansing is August 19th, but I can also accept keys after that time frame at the new address. We have a small one-week overlap at both houses that can compensate for late arrivals. We also have mail forwarding through USPS, so if you send it through that, you should be fine regardless. Just send me an e-mail at artist@mdartist.com and let me know about when the key will arrive/what mailing service you'll be using so I can make sure to give you the right address!

19 comments:

Dear Marietta, all of these incredible news make me smile with joy. Though we've never physically met I feel a bond between us and will always send you positive energy. From the other side of the ocean know that someone loves you very much, blessed be.

I'm afraid I won't be able to get a key to you in time for the house-cleansing, as while I was reading that section of your post it brought back a memory of an old key I found while I was still at primary school that didn't open anything we owned. I have a feeling I've probably still got it somewhere, so when I go through stuff and pack to move into my new place (hopefully by the end of September) I'll try and find it to send. And if I charge it in my new flat instead of here it will hopefully pick up some of the permanence of my flat and send it your way, as I now own instead of renting.

I'll also email you a photo of the candle I lit for you and Aaron on the 31st, as we left for our annual family holiday early on Saturday morning and I didn't have time to send it beforehand.

I got your photo and showed it to my husband. He's been overwhelmed with all the support the community has sent us and I think that photo was the icing on the cake of it all. It's incredibly sweet of you! Thank you so much!

Also, sending the key later if you find it is more than fine. I'm planning to hang them over the built-in china cabinet in the sitting room (the first room pictured that's dark brown with the fireplace). That should give me plenty of space for everyone! Thank you for thinking of us!

Your new house is AMAZING! It seems so perfectly suited to your needs! Btw- I found your website randomly ( or was it? In the craft there are very few coincidences...) and I just wanted to tell you I LOVE your blog and it has been extremely helpful to me. I recently found the craft as my true "spirituality" within the last two years. I am so thrilled to find people who embrace it, live it, and help others on their way. Even though this is through the internet, your blog helps me feel connected to others and I love seeing how other groups function. Thank you for sharing your journey and experiences and best wishes to a great transition to your new home :)

No kidding! My husband was so excited to rent this place that he squealed out of the driveway to get home and fill out the application (after some research). We're pretty darn excited! Thank you so much!

Congrats on all the good news. My husband and I are being forced out of our home as well. We will be moving into a home on the 29th and I am going to be using antique keys in my house cleansing as well. How funny! The house sounds like it is going to be a good fit for you guys, even if it is pretty dated. That wall paper and paneling...just wow. Haha! Good luck with everything!

Darn, I'm sorry to hear! I hope the new home will be a better fit for you two! Seems like this is happening to a lot of people lately. Good luck with your house cleansing as well!

I actually love the dated look of the "new" house. All the paneling is varnished raw wood with all the knots and everything, so it looks shiny, new and natural. I do have some issues with the wallpaper. While I actually like kitschy wallpaper, this house is very dark and busy, so some painting is definitely in order. The awful sea foam green and pepto pink carpet is probably our biggest obstacle. I really want to see if there's some undercarpeting that looks better. I'd even do with the natural flooring, even though that's probably not the best of ideas. But either way, I'm sure we can figure something out! Thank you so much!

I'm SOOOOO excited and happy for you! That's so wonderful and perfect and everything you deserve! And I'm so glad your husband is recovering! If you know how to do it (and can afford it and get approval from the owner) you could use laminate wood for the floor and tear out that ugly carpet! My friend was able to convince (pretty easily) her land lord. OH! And actually, if you tear up the carpet, you might find original hardwood underneath! So maybe talk to your landlord about it? Say you want to bring back the 'historic charm" of the house! ;)

Ah, I won't be able to send you a key from Belgium in time, since I read this today. I wish you and your husband (and roommate!) the best of luck in your new witchy home! Might I add I just LOVE your new house! :)

I'm Marietta, a nontheistic witch mixing modernity with traditional practices. My blog focuses on my journey with my familiars and connected spirits, diving deeper into my work with the Man in Black and my psychopomp guide D. Here, I present my rituals, altars and spells as needed while exploring witchcraft theory and history.